Dhamma Talks

Peter’s 2017 Year End Retreat Report

The theme for this retreat was Adaptation And Surrender, continuing to explore the concepts presented by Rodney Smith.  During the last posting of December, Peter referred to his book "Stepping Out Of Self-Deception"; the retreat addressed the concepts presented in...

Opening To Stillness

During this talk, Peter described his intentions for his upcoming annual two-week self-retreat, organized around applying the concept and practices derived from reading (multiple times) "Stepping Out Of Self Deception-The Buddha's Liberating Teaching Of No-Self" and...

Benefits Of Lovingkindness

During this talk, Peter described lovingkindness as an expression of the Wisdom aggregate of the Noble Eightfold Path, that is, Right Intention (which he renames Benevolent Intention).  The four Divine Abidings  were described: lovingkindness, compassion, empathetic...

Mike’s Retreat Report

It is customary for sangha members to have the opportunity to review an important retreat experience upon their return.  Mike attended a 5 day retreat at the Bhavana Society, the monastery created by Bhante Gunaratana, a very well-respected Dharma teacher.  Mike spoke...

The Refuge Of Gratitude

It is the custom of the Orlando Insight Meditation Group to dedicate the Thanksgiving Eve talk to the topic of gratitude.  Peter described the Three Refuges of traditional Buddhism, that is, taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha from a different perspective: ...

The Dharma And The 12 Steps

An important factor in developing the process of awareness is to live a balanced and serene life.  During recent posts, Peter emphasized various psychological dysfunctions that hinder this development, and recent posts described how the Dharma can address addictions...

Codependency And The Dharma

Two weeks ago, the posting focused on Addictions and the Dharma; last week's focus was on Relationships and the Dharma.  It seems reasonable to discuss how addictions affect relationships in the form of codependency.  Peter, who is a Certified Addictions Professional,...

Relationships And The Dharma

In the Upaddha Sutta, the Buddha explains to his attendant Ananda the crucial importance of relationship for realizing the Four Noble Truths (the quote is found in the notes attached to this posting).  Modern psychological research validates this belief--we are...

Addiction And The Dharma

This talk continues the exploration of how Buddhist principles and practices can benefit mental health, in this case, addiction.  Peter is a Certified Addictions Professional as well as a psychotherapist, therefore he presented a view of the nature of addiction that...